Drawhead-operated link coupler



June 1,1926. 1,586,802

I F. W. HENRIKSON DRAWHEAD OPERATED LINK COUPLER Filed Dec. 21, 1923 iii" 'pling angle.

Patented June 1, 1925.

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Parent FRANK W. HENRIKSON, OF MULBERRY, KANSAS.

IDEAWHEAD-OPEBATED LINK CQU'I'PLER.

Application filed December 21, 1923. Serial No. 682,033.

larlyto an improved device for automatically projecting theco-upling member outwardly from the car body into coupling position upon the occurrence of the usual bumping together of the cars to be coupled.

, The invention herein disclosed consists in certain lmprovements 1n the constructlon shown in my pendlng applicatlons Serial Nos. 655,297, filed August 2, 1923, and 674,-

315 fil d November 12, 1923, which app i tions disclose an arrangement of plunger or plungers. normally projecting beyond the bumper and connected to adisappearing link mounted in the drawhead in such a way that upon the occurrence of the usual bumping collision, the plungers will be actuated to project the link outwardly for the coupling operation.

One of the objects of the present application is to provide a mechanism for projecting the link outwardly into coupling operation, which consists in mountingthe drawhead on the vehicle in such a manner that on bumping impact, the drawhead itself will actuate the link throwing mechanism.

Another object of this invention resides in providing a yielding drawhead or bumper for a railwayrdraft vehicle, which drawhead is constructed and arranged to automatically actuate a coupling mechanism-on the occurrence of the bumping collision.

. Still another object of this, invention re sides in resiliently mounting the usual drawhead on a railway draft vehicle, and in housing a disappearing link within such drawhead with suitable connections between the link and drawhead whereby when the drawhead yields under bumping contact, such yielding motion will actuate the coupling mechanism.

Yet a further feature of thisinvention resides in the novel construction of the recessed drawhead and of the mounting of the disappearing link within the drawhead so that on rearward movement of the drawhead, the link will be projected and will be capable of coupling at any practical cou- A further feature of the invention resides in the manner of connecting the disappearing link and the-resilient coupler so that when the drawhead is pushed outwardly, the link will be able to retreat within the drawhead thereby preventing injury to the con;

necting devices between the link and drawhead.

These and other objects of the invention will be clearly apparent from a perusal of the following specification when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,

wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of two railway draft vehicles coupled together; L

Fig. 2 is a plan view partly in section of my improved coupling mechanism, and Fig. 3 is a section on the'line 3-8 of Fig; 2.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the railway vehicle 1 is shown in coupling relation to another railway vehicle 2, by means of the coupling link 3 carried by the vehicle 1 and adapted to be connected to vehicle 2 by means of the usual pin 4 carried on the vehicle 2. In the construction illustrated, the vehicle 1 is provided with the usual bumper 5 and the drawhead 6, which is arranged to normally project slightly beyond the face of the bumper and is movably mounted with relation to the bumper so that the drawhead-can be forced rearwardly by contact with the bumper of the car 2 against thetension of suitable spring or springs.

In the preferred embodiment of the in vention, the (lrawhead is preferably mounted to slide relatively to the bumper or support 5, of the vehicle, and to this end, there is provided on the under surface of the support a rear housing or bracket 7 and a forward housing or strap 8. The drawhead, which'is of any desired shape and type, is provided with an inner longitudinal recess 9 flanked by guides 10 and 11 to provide a longitudinal guideway for the relatively n'iovable link 12 which is adapted to be shifted longitudinally of the drawhead by suitable mechanism hereinafter described. The

bolt 14 and is arranged so that the bolt 17 passing through the bore of the plunger 14 will normaliy maintain the drawhead in outwardly projecting position.

It is obvious that any other desired arrangement of spring means for so projecting this drawhead may be availed of.

The link 12 is mounted so that-Lit may be projected outwardly beyond the contacting end 19 of the drawhead. As illustrated, this end 19 is arranged more or less in the arc of a circle, and the flanges 10 and 11 are arranged to flare outwardly as at 20, so that the link 12 as it reaches an outwardly projected position, may shift angularly about twenty degrees in either direction. With this construction, it will be apparent that the further the link is projected out, the greater this angle will be, until a maximum of about thirty degrees is reached.

The central part of the recess in the'drawhead is provided with a perforation 22 through which passes the usual connecting bolt 23. This bolt passes through a drawhead and through a central opening of'thc link 12, and constitutes a pivotal connection so that the link can shift laterally as before described. This central pivotal connection in cooperation with the flared guides 10 and 11 constitute an etlicient means for directing the shifting movement of said link, and for also permitting its shifting angularly when approaching the outer end of the guideway.

As in my prior construction, the link is provided at its inner end witlran elongated eye 2% which extends in a lateral direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the link. so that a coupling pin 25 may work freely in said eyelet. This coupling pin is on the end of a link 26 which connects with the link projecting mechanism hereinafter described. This feature isold in my former applications.

In order to utilize the retreating niovement of thedrawhead when it is forced inwardly as a result of the bumping impact, certain mechanism is provided which connects the drawhead with the link 26 just mentioned. In one form of the invention, a lever 27 :is pivoted at the point 28 to the drawhead 10. This lever is arranged to extend across the drawhead and the longer length of this .lever is provided at the end 29 with an eyelet through which hooks the bentend 30 of lever 26. This end.29 swings back and forth within the recess of the drawhead. The shorter arm 31 of lever 27 is likewise provided with an eyelet into which hooks an end 32 of rod This rod extends substantially parallel to and longitudinally of the drawhead. A second lever 34: is pivoted as at 35 in advance of lever 27. The shorter arm 36 of this lever is also provided with an eyelet into which hooks-an arm 37 of a .rod 38, the end 39 of which is anchored to the strap 8. The longer arm 40 of lever 391- is suitably bored and through this bore,

the rod 83 passes. The end of rod 33 is provided with a head &1. A coiled spring 42 is disposed between the long arm 40 of the lever-and a head 43 on rod 33, and a second coiled spring %1 is coiled around rod between arm 40 and the head 41. The spring 42 is a relatively heavy spring, while spring let is'a relatively light. spring.

By means of the above construction, it

will be evident that when the drawhead 10 is forced rearwardly under the bumping contact, the slot 17 in the drawhcad will permit the drawhead to yield rearwardly, and put the spring 18 under compression. This is due to the fact that the pin 17 stationary. At the same time, since the pivotal points 8 and of the levers 27 and 3 1 shift 'rearwardly, the free ends of the levers will be actuated'to project the link 12 forwardly. It will be noted that since the long arm of lever 27 is connected to the link 26 and the latter to the link coupler 12, upon shifting the lever 27, the link 12 will be thrown forwardly very quickly, and at the end of this movement. if necessary. can shift angularly .to permit coupling at the desired or necessary angle. as for instance. when the coupling is to'bc confined ata curve, or the flared flanges 20 at the outer end of the drawhead, will permit the coupling link 12 to accommodate itself to short bends or turns in the trackage.

The coiled springs 12 and 41 constitute a very effective means for preventing the link 12 and the actuating mechanism therefor from being damaged in case the drawhead 10 has been forced rearwardly under impact. In such case, it will be ren'iembcred that the link 12 will have been projected into outward position. In this position. if the coupling operation is not successful, it may be ammed by the colliding vehicle. However.

due to the arrangement of the operating mechanism, and especially the springs 42 and 14, the link 12 can be forced inwardly even when drawhead 10 is in retreated position, since the link when so pushed in, will only put the compression spring 42 under still greater pressure.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and the arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention. what I claim as new and desire to secure by letters-Patent, is

1. In a combination with a railway vehicle, a drawhead mounted on said vehicle and adapted to have a longitudinal movement with regard thereto upon colliding contact with another vehicle, a coupling clement mounted in said drawhead, and devices connected to said drawhead to move said coupling element upon such longitudinal movement of said drawhead and in the opposite direction thereto.

2. In combination with a railway vehicle, a drawhead projecting from one end thereof and adapted to be pressed inwardly on colliding Contact with another vehicle, a cou pling element mounted on said vehicle, and

resilient devices connecting said drawhead .and coupling element to pro ect said element outwardly when said drawhead is pushed inwardly.

3. In combination witha railway vehicle, a drawhead projecting from one end thereof and arranged to be pushed inwardly on colliding contact with another vehicle, a couple-r carried by said drawhead, means for projecting said couple-r on actuation of said drawhead, and means to permit said drawhead to move inwardly without proj ecting said coupler.

4. In combination with a railway vehicle, adrawhead projecting from one end thereof and arranged to be pushed inwardly on bumping contact, a coupler mounted on said drawhead, means connecting said coupler and drawhead to project said coupler be yond the contacting end of said drawhead when said drawhead is pushed inwardly, and means to permit said drawhead to move inwardly without projecting said coupler.

5. In combination with a railway vehicle, a recessed drawhead mounted on said vehicle and adapted to move longitudinally with regard thereto and normally projecting beyond the end thereof, a coupler normally positioned within said drawhead, means to permit said drawhead to move longitudinally inward with regard to the vehicle, devices actuated upon-such movement of the drawhead to expose said coupler outside said drawhead, and means to permit said coupler to be shifted pivotally and laterally to aline said coupler for the coupling operation. 7

6. In combination with a railway vehicle, a recessed drawhead normally projecting beyond the end of the vehicle and adapted to move longitudinally with regard to the same, a coupler normally received within said recess, means to permit said drawhead to move longitudinally inward with regard to the vehicle, and means to connect said coupler and said drawhead to project said coupler from said recess upon such movement of the drawhead.

7. A device of the class described comprising in combination with a vehicle, a recessed drawhead mounted thereon, spring means constructed and arranged to project said drawhead, a link coupler mounted in the recess in said drawhead, a lever pivoted to said drawhead and having its shorter arm held from movement, a second lever pivoted to said drawhead at the rear of said first lever and having its longer arm pro vided with a link connection to said link coupler, a rod pivotally connected to the short arm of said second lever, said rod passing through a perforation in the longer arm of said first lever, and coiled springs surrounding said rod, one being located on each side of said second-mentioned lever.

8. In combination with a railway vehicle, a drawhead mounted thereon, an elongated slot in said drawhead, a pin passing through said vehicle and through said slot on the drawhead, a rod received by said drawhead and provided with an eye adapted to receive said pin, a spring coiled around said rod and confined between said head thereof and said drawhead, a link coupler mounted in said drawhead for longitudiiral movement therein, a first lever pivoted in said drawhead, and having a link connecting the longer arm of said lever to said link coupler, a second lever pivoted to said drawhead, means for holding the shorter end of said second lever stationary, and a rod arranged substantially parallel to said shifta-ble drawhead and provided with a pivotal connection to said first lever, said rod passing through a perforation in the long arm of said second lever, and springs on said rod between said second lever and the opposite ends of said rod.

9. In combination with a railway vehicle, a drawhead resiliently mounted thereon and adapted to normally project beyond the end of said vehicle, a link coupler mounted in said drawhead, a lever pivoted on one side of said drawhead with its long arm extending across the rear of said drawhead, a second lever pivoted to the other side of said drawheadin advance of said first lever, a link connecting the long arm of said first lever to said link coupler, a link connecting the short arm of said second lever to the stationary part of the vehicle, a rod arranged substantially longitudinally of said drawhead and provided with two headed ends, a pivotal connection between one of said ends and the short arm of the first lever, said rod passing through a perforation in the long arm of said second lever, a relatively heavy spring coiled around said rod between said perforated longer arm of said second lever and one end of said rod and a second spring coiled around said rod between the perforated arm of said lever and the opposite end of said rod.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

FRANK W. HENRIKSON. 

